The White Elephants of Lucknow

Much is said and written about Mayawati's fixation for elephants. The wild life enthusiasts would be elated by the fact that a CM in India is investing so much resources on building statues of this endangered species of the largest terrestrial mammal.

For the last ten years, the only development that U.P. has seen is by way of statues. So, it will not be wrong to say that U.P. is fast becoming a sculptor's paradise. Shravan Prajapati, the man behind most of the statues dotting the skyline of Lucknow cannot be happier. He is by far the most celebrated sculptor of our country , thanks to the megalomania of Mayawati, who has been dubiously titled as Daulat ki Beti by her opponents - for, she has decided to reverse all the excesses done on dalits till date by erecting statues!

Slumdog Millionaire and the Bengal Famine

India being an emerging economy, the instances of street urchins jostling for space in the same city where millionaires and billionaires move around, are numerous. The movie Slumdog Millionaire used this premise to show a society where people live in abject poverty, in spite of the abundance of cash changing hands in the country at large. Something similar to this had happened during the Bengal Famine, when on one hand the British bourgeoisie lavishly wasted tonnes of rice, while on the other the poor farmers had to grovel dirt for a few grains.

We in India, have got immune to the existence of slums, and their inhabitants. We know how to avoid the stench emanating from these places by pinching our nose. Also, how to look the other way when brought face to face with the heart wrenching sight of an amputated or blind beggar.